Indian art adds rich colours to canvas

Ashoke NagJan 9, 2007, 03.17am IST

KOLKATA: It's now established and sealed. Indian art has gone global, all guns blazing. Prices of Indian artworks have begun to rival those from some of the South-East Asian and Asian countries like Indonesia, Philippines, South Korea and Vietnam.

Only China and Japan are probably ahead, that too in the modern art section. In the sale of young contemporary Asian artists work in Hong Kong recently, Indian art was on par with Chinese, Japanese and Korean art.

And, what are we looking at in 2007. Around 30 Indian art auctions, up from 22 in 2006. And, auction sales which are poised to catapult to $250 million this year from $150 million last year. "There were nine auctions of Indian art in 2003. This rose to 10 the next year and by four more in 2005.

And, the numbers catapulted to 22 auctions in 2006. And, if one looks at the growth in auction turnover from 2004, it's mind-boggling. The total auction sales of Indian art in 2004 was pegged at Rs 60.03 crore. The next year it rose to Rs 223.42 crore and has zoomed to Rs 646.29 crore in 2006," Osian's chairman Neville Tuli told ET.

Capsulating the incredible expansion of the Indian art market, Arun Vadehra, director of Delhi's leading Vadehra Art Gallery said the auction market had vaulted 300% from $52 million in 2005 to $150 million in 2006. "Looking forward, the auction scene should grow to $250 million in 2007.

The overall size of the Indian market has more than doubled from $150 million to $350 million in 2006. One expects this will scale a billion dollars by 2009," Mr Vadehra said. The international auction base for Indian art is also widening considerably. With Christie's entering Dubai, new bases in Hong Kong, Singapore, New York, London and Dubai are opening up for the Indian contemporary art scene.

Retail sales back home are swelling too. This is being aided, predictably, not just by burgeoning demand for Indian artworks, but the growth in Indian galleries countrywide and in overseas locales. "Indian art galleries have opened up in New York, London and Singapore.

In step, a large number of galleries have come up in domestic centres like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai," Prakash Kejariwal, art specialist and director of Kolkata's oldest art gallery Chitrakoot, said.

He also pointed to the coming of art funds which are poised to "garner Rs 1,000 crore over time". Offshore funds for NRIs and foreigners are also in the offing. Interestingly, Indians have begun to like art by Lucian Freud, Francis Bacon and Henry Moore.

Kolkata's Aakriti Art Gallery director Vikram Bachhawat exudes optimism. "The market will grow at least 300% in the coming years to be on par with the Southeast Asian market. In tandem, the sculptures market is also climbing the ladder.

The prices of sculptures have gone up 3-4 times lately but is still to reach the peak," Mr Bachhawat said. Overseas interest in Indian sculptures is picking up too with shows abroad. He also observed that Indian art auctions are poised to touch around 30 next year.

Reiterating that volumes are increasing in terms of auctions and turnover, Mr Tuli observed the collector base is widening in India and abroad. "Many investors will become genuine collectors and with increasing purchasing power of Indians across the world over the next decade, fundamental changes are expected. Financial institutions and corporates will also enter the scene as we build a credible knowledge base," he said.

And, to sum up let's not forget that led by Tyeb Mehta and his Mahisasura, four other Indian artists, Amrita Sher Gil, SH Raza, VS Gaitonde and FN Souza have crossed the million-dollar mark at auctions, setting the stage for Indian topline painters to vie with the cream of Chinese and Japanese contemporary art in days to come.